MANILA – The Philippines’ unemployment rate was steady in June but the underemployment rate was higher, the state statistics bureau said on Tuesday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that unemployment was at 7.7 percent in June, the same rate recorded in May. However, the number of jobless Filipinos was higher in June at 3.76 million, compared to 3.73 million in May as more workers joined the labor force.
The underemployment rate, meanwhile, climbed to 14.2 percent in June, up from 12.3 percent in the previous month. This meant that there were 6.41 million Filipinos who found work but were still looking for more work.
National statistician Dennis Mapa said that the higher underemployment rate in June was also due to higher labor force participation, as easing mobility restrictions allowed more people to look for work.
“‘Yung nakikita naman natin mula noong 2020 ‘yung labor force participation at ‘yung employment rate and of course ‘yung counterpart ‘yung pagbaba ng unemployment rate ito talaga ay function ng restriction,” Mapa added.
Effect of new lockdown
Unemployment may rise with the impending lockdown of key areas this month to curb the local transmission of the more contagious Delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Mapa.
The highest unemployment rate recorded was in April last year when mobility restrictions were most stringent.
“Nakikita natin na tuwing tayo’y nagkakaroon ng lockdown may impact talaga sa ating unemployment numbers,” he said.
Joblessness has been declining since the record plunge last year as the government eased lockdowns meant to check the spread of COVID-19.
The Asian Development Bank, however, noted that the new jobs created amid the pandemic were of lower quality.(ABS-CBN News)
